Chinese Submarine Activity in the Taiwan Strait Picked Up by Satellite as Tensions in the East China Sea Heightens
(Photo : MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty Images)

On the 29th of November, a Chinese submarine was detected via a satellite of the European Space Agency is near Taiwan. This move is interpreted as a signal to Washington that Beijing intends to retake Taiwan.

Analysts say it's not normal for submarines to operate from their usual clandestine ways of not being seen, but having a ballistic nuclear submarine running on the surface is a taunt.

Such examples are the recent spotting of Russian subs on the Baltic and another American submarine exposed in the Norwegian sea.

Satellite spotted Chinese nuclear-powered submarine

HI Sutton, columnist and military expert, posted the image of a Type-094 Jin Class SSBN captured by the ESA Sentinel-2 satellite while transiting the Taiwan Strait, reports the Independent.

He said the resolution of captured images is low, and the SSBN wave pattern is due to a round front end. Its length and design are similar to Type 094. He posted it on his website.

The expert cited that the sub was traveling northward from the Yulin base in the South China Sea, and it was normal. He added these transits from Yulin to the Bohai sea shipyard are usually for repairs, noted the South China Morning Post.

Last Monday, an American P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew over the Strait from Japan's Misawa Air Base. Observers say these activities of the submarine's transit and the ASW patrol from Japan; are due to Beijing getting at loggerheads with the US regarding Taipei.

US Hegemony versus Chinese expansion

On the same Monday, Chiu Kuo-cheng, Defense Minister of Taiwan, called these events are counterproductive in the Taiwan Strait. He stresses that the Peoples Republic of China and its action could lead to an untoward conflict.

Last Sunday, a report by the Ministry of Defense said that 27 Chinese aircraft it ADIZ, followed by interceptors to set them to their airspace. The Chinese submarine activity in the Taiwan Strait is only one of the many incidents soon.

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This latest breach of Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) had eighteen fighters and five H-6 bombers, including a tanker noted by officials, cited Military.

Despite pressure by the US to drop its claim to the island, Beijing said it is part of the mainland even after a civil war that split the nation and civil war.

Xi Jinping has not taken a forced invasion to bring the independent island to the fold, and all the military actions around Taiwan have never devolved close to conflict.

Sending planes to probe Taipei's defenses has been a routine, but the involvement of Joe Biden's administration in the region's politics is causing tension.

An increasing number of planes, up to 554 intrusions, is abnormally high, from September 2020 till August 2021. This increase came as the US ignored the One-China policy, alleged as the root of escalation.

The White House is now pivoting to Asia as its devastating loss of Afghanistan. Joe Biden wants to show that he can take on China that is not conducive to peace on the world stage.

The foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told Biden that the Taiwan card would be his undoing. The US is using Beijing to further its hegemony, Chinese submarine activity in the Taiwan Strait is regular, but it can worsen if the US does not pull back.

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